Author Archives: Kathy

Vicky’s Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Posted in Cookies by

 

“God cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming, than about who we once were.” – Elder Dale G. Renlund

This is SUCH a delicious cookie.  If I had to pick my favorite all time cookie, this cookie would be in the running.  Sara got this recipe from her sweet friend and landlady, Vicky.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Ingredients:

  • One cup (2 sticks) of butter
  • One cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • One Tablespoon vanilla
  • Two cups flour
  • Three and a half cups oats
  • One half cup flax meal
  • Heaping cup each of:
  • Craisins, Walnuts (or pecans)
  • One half to ¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

  • Combine 1 teaspoon soda and ½ teaspoon salt
  • Use food processor to make coarse flour out of the oats
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Combine butter and sugars until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat well.
  • Combine dry ingredients including flax meal and mix well.  Gradually add about 2/3’s to creamed mixture.  Add craisins, nuts and chips.  Blend evenly and add remaining dry ingredients.
  • Bake for 9 + minutes.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
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Brooklynn’s Easter Rolls

Posted in Bread, Rolls and Muffins, Easter by

“Live your life to be a good example of what you believe.”  — Elder Robert D. Hales

This is the delicious roll recipe Brooklynn made for Easter:

Ingredients:

  • Rhodes frozen rolls
  • butter
  • garlic powder
  • salad supreme seasoning
  • Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Let rolls thaw about an hour.

Dip them in melted butter and twist them like a bow tie and line them up in a glass baking dish.

Brush them with butter, then sprinkle them with garlic powder, salad supreme seasoning, and Parmesan cheese (optional).

Let them rise for 2-3 hours and then bake for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhodes Quick and Easy Orange Rolls

Posted in Bread, Rolls and Muffins, Easter by

“Great courage … will be required to choose the right.” –Elder Ulisses Soares

I still love the Carolyn’s Orange Rolls recipe, but if you don’t have a lot of time and want orange rolls for dinner, here is a quick and yummy recipe.

Quick and Easy Orange Rolls

Ingredients
Rolls:
12 frozen dinner rolls  (I use Rhodes)
Grated rind of one orange
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C melted butter

Citrus Glaze:
1 C powdered sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp orange juice
Instructions

Directions:
1. Mix together powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp melted butter and orange juice and stir until smooth
2. Thaw dough in the refrigerator over night or 2-3 hours prior to use
3. Cover with plastic wrap while thawing
4. Grate orange rind and mix with sugar
5. Roll thawed roll in 1/2 C melted butter and then in sugar and rind mixture
6. Place on greased cookie sheet or 9 x 13 pan
7. Cover with plastic wrap and allow rolls to double in size – approximately 1 hour
8. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes
Let rolls cool enough that they aren’t hot (about 5 minutes) but still warm and then frost them with the citrus glaze.

Sweet Baby Ray’s Crockpot Chicken

Posted in Chicken Dinners, Dinner by

Sweet Baby Ray’s Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients

4-6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s bbq sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions

1. Mix BBQ sauce with vinegar, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and garlic powder.
2. Place chicken in crockpot. Pour sauce mixture over chicken.
3. Cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

Cafe Rio Chicken

Posted in Chicken Dinners, Dinner by

I got this recipe from http://mandysrecipeboxblog.com/cafe-rio-chicken/

Ingredients
  • 2 lbs chicken breasts
  • 8 oz. zesty Italian dressing
  • ½ Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix (mixed with ½ cup of water)
  • ½ Tablespoon chili powder
  • ½ Tablespoon ground cumin
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on LOW for about 5 hours or until chicken is done.
  2. Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, whatever you like.

Cranberry Chicken

Posted in Chicken Dinners, Freezer Meals by

Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients

  • 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 package dry onion soup mix
  • 1 (16 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
  • 1 cup French dressing or Russian dressing

Directions

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish.
  2. Stir the onion soup mix, cranberry sauce, and French dressing together in a bowl until well blended. Pour over the chicken breasts. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish, and cover the baking dish with  aluminum foil.
  5. Bake chicken in preheated oven until top is bubbly and slightly browned, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can freeze it for later.  Put all the ingredients in a gallon freezer Ziploc bag.  Close it and then mash all the ingredients with your hand to mix it.  Thaw in fridge and then dump the contents into your crock pot and cook 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

 

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake and Frosting

Posted in Cakes, Cobblers, Pies and Tarts by

Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.  – Audrey Hepburn

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
Cooks Illustrated All-Time Best Recipes, David Pazmino

Note: Don’t make the frosting until the cakes are cooled, and use the frosting as soon as it is ready.  If the frosting gets too stiff to spread easily, wrap the mixer bowl with a towel soaked in hot water adn mix on low speed until the frosting is creamy and smooth.  Refrigerated leftover cake should sit at room temperature before serving until the frosting softens.

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsley chopped
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup hot water
1 3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9-inch round by 2 inch high cake pans with butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess.  Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate ins melted, about 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate and stir until glossy, 1-2 minutes.  Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.  Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl.  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds.  Add remaining 1 1/4 C sugar, increase speed to high, and whis until fluffy and lightened in color, 2-3 minutes.  Replace whisk with paddle attachment.  Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30-45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.  Add softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition.  Add about 1/3 of flour mixture; followed by half of buttermilk mixture mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds.)   Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated.) Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.  Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.

Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25-30minutes.  Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack.  Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45-60 minutes.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting
Cooks Illustrated Best Recipes Issue, 12/09

16 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I measured 16oz chocolate chips on a kitchen scale, it’s a teeny bit more than 2 1/2 cups.)
8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

Melt Chocolate in heatproof bowl set over a saucepan containing 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted.  Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4-5 minutes.  Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of stand mixer and stir to thoroughly combine.
Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1-2 minutes (frosting should be 70 degrees).  Place bowl on stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.  *If you find after beating, your frosting is still too soft for your liking, try chilling in the fridge until it sets up a little more.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Posted in Whipping Cream by

Homemade Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream, thoroughly chilled
  • 1 T confectioner’s sugar (to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place mixing bowl and beaters in refrigerator to chill before whipping.

Whip cream on high speed until stiff peaks are just about to form.  Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks do form.  Do not over beat or cream will become butter-like.

COPYCAT MACARONI GRILL ROSEMARY BREAD RECIPE

Posted in Bread, Rolls and Muffins by

“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” –Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Thanks to Sara for this delicious bread recipe.

Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and serving
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine the yeast, sugar and ¼ cup of water in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.
  2. In the same bowl, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 ½ tablespoons rosemary, fine salt, ¾ cups warm water and all the flour. Mix with large spoon until dough forms. Then work dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 5-7 minutes. Rub olive oil on the inside of a clean bowl and put the dough in, cover with saran wrap or a cloth and let stand for 1 hour. The dough should have doubled in size by this time.
  3. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Next, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 halves. Knead each piece for a minute or so, sprinkling with flour, as needed and work into a ball. Place each loaf on the prepared baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until dough has doubled.
  4. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and brush with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the kosher salt and pepper and crumble the remaining rosemary over top of the loaf. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
  5. Let cool slightly and serve warm.
  6. Adapted from the Food Network.

 

Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Posted in Macaroni and Cheese by

Recipe source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/dining/arts/the-winter-cook-macaroni-and-lots-of-cheese.html

Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
  • 12 ounces American cheese or cheddar cheese,  coarsely grated
  • 1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salted water until just tender, drained, and rinsed under cold water
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
  • Salt
  • 2/3 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use one tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside two heaping cups for topping.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne (if using) and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until crusty on top and bottom.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings.